


Ghosts

by jamesethneal



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Inspired by Life Is Strange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 07:32:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17914526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesethneal/pseuds/jamesethneal
Summary: Ever since the storm that ravaged Arcadia Bay, Max Caulfield has had trouble coming to grips with reality. She must learn to overcome her traumas, or risk breaking.





	1. Chapter 1

Max was falling.

The darkness threatened to consume her, slowly draining her sanity as she spiraled farther and farther down. Like shards of broken glass, her memories hung around her, severing her ties to her own reality; visions of Chloe bleeding out on the floor; Kate, jumping from the roof of the dorm building; Mark Jefferson taking pictures of her at her most vulnerable. In a single moment (or was it many?) she witnessed every possible timeline of that week in October, reliving the pain and the tears over and over and over again. 

But she could not weep.

She saw the happy memories, too. She saw Long Max Silver and Captain Chloe Bluebeard fighting off enemy pirates. She saw the blush on Chloe’s face as she stood on her toes, accepting the dare to kiss her. She heard the gentle laughter of Kate during their tea-time together, and could even almost feel Alice’s little whiskers as the bunny ate from her palms. 

And still she fell.

Faster and faster she plummeted, grasping desperately at those fleeting moments of happiness. As they became fewer and the nightmares came in waves, she felt as though her chest would collapse, as though she would be taken under this sea of torment, bobbing and screaming, with no one to hear her pleas. She felt like her head would explode and that those broken, shard-like moments of bliss would be gone forever. 

Until she heard the voice.

She didn’t recognize it at first. A soft, loving sound that calmed the storm around her, the voice was easy and inviting.

“Shh, Max. It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”

She knew that voice.

The clearer it became, the slower she fell. The terrifying memories around her dissipated, leaving her to float among those little fragments of bliss. Her descent continued to slow, until finally she could see what looked like the bottom of this endless nightmare.

After what felt like an eternity, Max touched the ground, and woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calm during the storm.

It took a few minutes for Max to come to. Blinking rapidly to clear the blur from her eyes, she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. It all seemed like things she should recognize, but she couldn’t quite place them - the pastel colors, the expensive furniture, the hand running through her hair…

The hand running through her hair.

She slowly lifted her head from its place on the blonde’s chest and turned to look her in the eyes.

“Hey,” Victoria managed with a small smile. Those eyes that once burned with hatred and jealousy now showed nothing but love and compassion. She tried to hide the quiver of her lips, the shake in her voice, but Max always knew when she was worried about her. “Was it another nightmare?”

Max’s breath caught in her throat. She let it out slowly, heavily before starting. “I don’t know what they are, anymore. I just know that they hurt. I have to watch-”

Victoria cut her off. 

“Hey, shh. It’s okay. I know. But you’re here, now, with me. Jeffershit can’t hurt you anymore. And I know the… other… memories hurt, too, but we’re getting through it all together, right?” 

Max nodded her head as she laid back into Victoria and glanced at the clock.

3:21 a.m.

“Let’s go back to sleep, okay? We don’t have anything to do tomorrow, and we can spend the whole day like this, if you want.” 

Max gave a quiet “Yeah” as she rolled over and scooted back against Victoria. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

She closed her eyes and tried.

She tried.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relaxed.

Late Saturday morning found the girls riding to the Washington Park Arboretum, cameras in hand. Max scrolled through some pictures Victoria had taken the week before while her José González CD played quietly through the car’s speakers. Though it was unseasonably rainy for July, they didn’t mind. After all, overcast weather made for much softer exposures during midday. 

They often spent days like this after some of Max’s worse nightmares. Words were traded for the snap of camera shutters, the art acting as therapy for both of them. The shared passion managed to console them on the rare chance the other could not, and the fact that they could spend time doing it together was quickly strengthening the bond that had formed between them.

Neither one of them had ever expected that bond in the first place. 

It had been nine months since Mark Jefferson and Nathan Prescott had been imprisoned for what they had done, and Victoria was still kicking herself for not doing more to be the friend that Nathan had needed. She had seen the signs; she saw through the drug abuse and the abrasive behavior and knew he needed help, but she had chosen to ignore it. Instead, he’d fallen into a hole that was much too deep to climb out of, and it was too late for her to help him out. 

At the time, she had coped in the only way she knew how: she partied. She drank, and she pretended that everyone in the world loved her recklessly. Who cared if she burned bridges? Who cared that the new girl, the cute hipster chick in the pink Jane Doe shirt caught her eye and made her lose her composure, just a little bit? Slowly, surely, she realized.

She cared.

One by one, she cut her connections with the Vortex Club. She could never give up her friendships with Taylor and Courtney, but the others? They were nothing but painful reminders of a world she no longer wished to be a part of. Slowly, surely, she changed.

She cared.

She knew Max was hurting, too. She didn’t know just how badly, at the time, but she knew all the same. She decided that from then on, she wasn’t going to push Max into lockers. She wasn’t going to taunt her in the locker room, or pretend that she didn’t exist on the rare occasion the smaller girl actually wanted to talk to her. Slowly, surely, she knew.

She loved.

As the two of them started to spend more time together, Victoria found it harder and harder to ignore the heat in her face, the butterflies in her stomach. Their time together felt much too short, and every touch between them ignited a fire that the blonde didn’t think she wanted to put out. She never wanted to be without the girl that had quickly turned into her best friend.

She couldn’t imagine Max felt the same way.

She wasn’t accustomed to being wrong.

One month before graduation, Max and Victoria were performing their weekly Thursday night ritual: dinner at the Two Whales, somewhere Victoria would never even consider going without Max, followed by a movie in Victoria’s room. As Final Fantasy: Spirits Within played for what felt like the hundredth time, Victoria thought she felt the brunette scooting ever closer to her. She tried to ignore it, chalking it up to her imagination and high hopes, until she felt Max rest her head on her shoulder. 

Gently, she reached over and took Max’s hand, hoping against hope that she was reading the situation correctly. She smiled a soft smile as she felt the smaller girl squeeze her hand back. Max traced tiny, mesmerizing circles on Victoria’s palm with her thumb, causing a warmth to spread from her hand, up her arm, and all the way into her chest. For the first time in a long time, she was happy. 

As the movie ended, Max stood and stretched.

“I’m gonna go to bed, Vic. I’ve got one of my finals in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow after class?”

Victoria simply nodded. 

“Of course. And I’m sure you’ll do great on your exam. I’ll walk you across to your room.”

As they came to Max’s door, she turned and hugged the blonde. 

“Goodnight, Vic.” Max sleepily tilted her head back to give the taller girl a light kiss on the cheek. “Sleep tight.”

Victoria slept with a smile that night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New beginnings.

“Max, stop right there!”

Max looked back in surprise, turning to see her girlfriend with her camera up to her face.

Click.

Victoria stood there, staring at the LCD on her camera, smiling. As they were getting ready to leave the park, the sun had broken through the clouds, wrapping the brunette’s face and shoulders in a radiant, golden aura. 

Not entirely sure what had just happened, Max walked over and looked over her girlfriend’s shoulder to see what was on the screen.

The wind whipping her hair, Max had her left hand up to keep it away from her face, the other clutching her old Polaroid to her chest as she looked just past the lens to Victoria, her face sweetly, innocently concerned at the sudden outburst.

A small, sheepish grin tugged at the corners of Max’s mouth as her face reddened, still not used to someone treating her the way Vic did. No one had ever made her feel quite this way. The only other person that had ever made her feel this beautiful, this loved, this happy was…

Dead.

It seemed like a lifetime ago, now, but someone really had once made Max feel as though she could do anything. She remembered how she felt inside when she heard herself called “Super-Max”; she remembered the flutter of her heart every time her childhood friend smiled at her; she remembered...

Chloe was dead.

The blonde strode up to her and pulled her into a quick kiss as the smile started to fade. For a moment, she nearly forgot…

Chloe was dead and she could have saved her.

Victoria must have sensed what Max was thinking. As she broke their embrace, she took the smaller girl’s hands in her own, letting her camera hang from the strap around her neck. 

“She still loves you, you know.”

Max was confused. “What?”

“Chloe. You’re never going to be without her, Max. She may be gone, but she’s always going to be watching over you, and I think you know that as well as I do.”

As if on cue, a blue butterfly touched down, briefly resting on a nearby water fountain before flying away again.

Max smiled faintly. 

“I want to go to Arcadia.”

Now it was Victoria’s turn to look confused. Neither of them had even discussed going back to that place since they got away.

“I don’t… what?”

“I want to visit Arcadia Bay, Vic. I know it hasn’t really been that long since we left, but I feel like… “ She hesitated. “I feel like if I go back, I can finally make some sort of peace. Even if it’s just for a day or two, I need to go back. Is… is that okay?” 

Victoria leaned down, resting her forehead against Max’s.

“Yeah. I hadn’t even thought about it, but I think I get it. Why don’t we drive down next Friday, after I get off work?”

Max’s expression brightened.

“That… that sounds great. I’ll call Joyce and see if maybe we can stay with her and David. I don’t think they’ll mind the company too much.”

Max felt her face burning again as Victoria smiled at her, her eyes soft and caring and...

I love you.

“I love you, Maxine.”

She stared back at Victoria dumbly. Had Victoria Chase really just told her that she loved her? She knew that she needed to respond, that if she waited much longer to say something then Victoria would think that she had said the wrong thing or that it was much too early to confess these kinds of feelings. She could already see the worry forming in her eyes, she could feel the grip on her own hands start to slip, but she was so surprised that her mouth couldn’t remember how to form words.

Just as Victoria’s hands fell from hers, she reached up and pulled her in for another kiss, this one much longer than the last. 

“I love you, too, Vic.” She smiled as she said it, unable to contain her excitement. Victoria Chase loved her. Victoria loved her and she loved Victoria and, in this moment, everything felt good.

Everything felt good.

Relief immediately washed over the taller girl’s face. She’d never seen Victoria blush quite like that before, and she couldn’t help but giggle.

“What? What is it? Do I have something on my face?” Victoria reached up to see if she could find what Max was laughing at.

“No, there’s nothing on your face, Vic. You’re just so beautiful when you’re the color of a tomato.”

This just made Victoria blush even more.

“Yeah, it’s just… it... it’s really warm out here.” She stuttered her way through the sentence. “We should get going before my makeup starts to run.”

As they drove back to their apartment, Max couldn’t keep herself from smiling. Her gaze drifted between their hands, fingers laced together, to Victoria, her eyes straight ahead, straining to keep her focus on the road and off of Max, to the setting sun in front of them. 

Everything felt right.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arcadia.

It was late Friday night when the girls finally pulled into Joyce’s driveway. The drive had taken much longer than they intended, and they were almost ready to collapse when they arrived. Joyce met them at the door, noticeably excited to see the two of them.

“Oh, Max it’s so good to see you,” the older woman said, hugging Max and lifting her off of the ground. “Honestly, hon, when you left this time, I didn’t think you’d be coming back.” Her face dropped. “Not that I’d blame you, of course, after everything that happened.” 

“It’s definitely… difficult… to be back here so soon. I’ve been struggling a lot, lately, and I was hoping that maybe if I came to visit…” 

Victoria reached for her hand as the breath caught in the smaller girl’s throat. Max shook her head and started again.

“I was hoping it would help if I came and visited Chloe again.” 

A faint smile appeared on Joyce’s face.

“I’m sure she’d love to see you, hon.” She turned to the blonde. “And you must be Victoria. I’ve heard quite a lot about you, and I gotta say that I’m so happy that you and Max could be there for each other when things looked so grim. This girl has been family around here for darn near as long as she’s been alive, and you’re both welcome anytime.”

Victoria smiled. 

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Price. I didn’t know Chloe very well, but Max has been there for my own share of breakdowns and rough patches, and I really don’t know how I would have gotten through any of it without her.” 

Joyce pulled her into a hug of her own and chuckled.

“First off, you can call me Joyce. ‘Mrs.’ makes me feel old. Second, as much as I’d love to stand out here all night while you girls fawn over each other, I’d like to get to bed fairly soon. Why don’t we head inside?”

The girls grabbed their bags from the car, and followed Joyce inside and up the stairs. She stopped just outside the door of a room that was much too familiar for Max.

“I hope you girls don’t mind staying in Chloe’s room. I know it’s a bit… strange without her here, but we don’t really have much in the way of a guest room. It was this or the garage and I just figured that the bed would be a little bit nicer than sleeping in David’s old muscle car.”

“It’s okay, Joyce. I knew when I called and asked that we’d probably have to stay in Chloe’s room if we stayed here. It’s kind of painful but I think we’ll manage.” Max had trouble hiding the shake in her voice. 

“Alright, well if either of you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’m working the breakfast shift at the Two Whales tomorrow, and I’ll be home early in the afternoon. David will be out for most of the day, so I’ll leave the spare key on the counter for you when I leave in the morning, just in case. Goodnight, girls.”

The three of them hugged each other one last time before retiring for the night. As they walked into Chloe’s old room, Max noticed that Joyce and David had left everything exactly as it was before she died. 

Victoria took a long look around, absorbing the essence of “punk” that would likely be there as long as Joyce. “This…” she said, “is pretty much exactly what I expected it to look like. I was kind of hoping for unicorn posters and pink wallpaper, but this works, too.”

Max moved past her to point out the poster hanging on the wall: a warrior princess mounted atop a flying unicorn.

“I think this is about as close as it gets,” she laughed. “Although I’m really surprised she still had it lying around. I thought she trashed it years ago.”

The blonde narrowed her eyes and attempted to hide a smile behind her hand. “Hmm, close enough. Sparkles and pink are basically the same thing, anyway.”

As their laughter died down, Victoria stretched and opened her bag to pull out a towel and night clothes. 

“It really is late, isn’t it? I’d like to get a shower before we turn in for the night, if that’s alright.”

Max mimicked her stretching. “Yeah, I’ll show you where the bathroom is. I need to brush my teeth anyway.”

When they stepped into the bathroom, Victoria hung her towel on the rack while Max worked on getting all of their toiletries sorted, and was surprised when she felt small hands wrap around her waist from behind. She could feel Max’s warm, somewhat shallow breathing on her back; she could feel her heartbeat speeding up at the touch of her partner. Heat rushed to her face as she felt one hand slip from her stomach and drift towards the zipper of her skirt. As it fell from her hips, she turned around and pulled Max into a deep kiss.

“Maxine Caulfield, what is this all about?” She giggled, planting another kiss on the top of Max’s head. 

“Well, you said you were tired, so I thought maybe you could use a little help?” Max toyed with the buttons on Victoria’s shirt, slowly slipping the first one through the hole and exposing the blonde’s sharp collarbones.

Taking the smaller girl by the hips, Victoria drew her in for another, more passionate embrace. 

“Well, maybe a little help wouldn’t hurt.”

 

Just after ten on Saturday morning, Victoria slowly woke up with a nagging suspicion that something was missing. Her normally perfect hair stuck up in every direction imaginable, the strap of her nightshirt hung from her shoulder and she rubbed her eyes vigorously to clear the sleep from them. 

Cold. Tired. Max. 

Max?

Somewhat concerned at the lack of a warm body against her, she pulled a pair of sweatpants on and made her way downstairs. She turned the corner into the kitchen in time to see the brunette setting a glass of orange juice on a tray piled high with pancakes, fruit, and a cup of dark black coffee. 

“Well good morning, beautiful.”

Max started at the sound of Victoria’s voice. 

“Vic! I didn’t expect you to be up quite yet.” Her eyes dropped to the tray of food she’d prepared, a hint of disappointment crawling onto her face.

Victoria smiled. “Max, were you going to bring me breakfast in bed?”

“Well, I was but I guess now you’ll just have to settle for normal, boring breakfast.”

The blonde stepped across the kitchen, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl and kissing her on the forehead.

“A normal breakfast is totally fine, too. You know I’m going to expect this more often now, right?”

Max responded by lightly rubbing her nose against Victoria’s. 

“Well, then you should also expect to be disappointed. I’m surprised I even dragged myself out of the bed before noon today.” She pulled away from her girlfriend and moved the food to the dining table. With a tip of an imaginary fedora and a dramatic “M’lady,” Max pulled a chair out, gesturing for her to sit down.

“Well aren’t you quite the gentleman?” Victoria giggled as she took her spot at the table. “I’ll have you know, though, that I don’t kiss until the third date!”

“Oh? Then I must have showered with someone else last night. I hate that you couldn’t be there for that, it was pretty intense.” The brunette winked when Victoria’s face turned a light shade of pink.

As Max sat down across from her, Victoria took the smaller girl’s hand and pressed the knuckles against her lips, spending an equal amount of time and love on each tiny kiss. “I love you, Maxine.”

“I love you, too, Vic. Always.”

 

That afternoon found them wandering the streets of Arcadia Bay. They dipped in and out of thrift shops and art stores, briefly speaking with the odd classmate or neighbor as they enjoyed the warmth of the summer sun. As sunset drew closer, they found themselves in front of the church nearest the Price-Madsen household. Victoria felt Max’s hand slipping from her own, and gave it a quick squeeze as the smaller girl pushed open the fence to the cemetery. 

“Max,” she started. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this.” 

Max took a breath. “I do, actually. I haven’t visited her since…” she hesitated. “I haven’t visited since the week she died. I need this, Vic. I need some sort of peace.”

Victoria swallowed, forcing back tears. She hated to see Max so upset, but she knew she was right. If this was what she needed to find the peace she so desperately deserved, then Victoria was more than willing to do anything she could to help her through the ordeal. She watched as Max made her way through the headstones, stopping to sit in front of the one marked “Price”. Chloe had been buried beside William, taking the place once reserved for her mother. 

The blonde sat on the ground beside Max, unsure of exactly what to do to make things easier for her. The pair stayed there, silently, for the better part of half an hour before Max finally spoke. 

“When she died...” her voice faltered and she pulled her knees to her chest. “When she died, she thought she was alone. She was so angry, and she felt so betrayed. She thought that I had abandoned her. She…” she trailed off as the tears finally broke through, as they ran down her face and dripped off of her chin and onto the knees of her jeans.

Victoria opted to stay silent, wrapping her arm around the smaller girl’s shoulders and letting her rest her head on her shoulder. 

“She didn’t deserve to die like that, Vic: scared and alone on the bathroom floor of fucking Blackwell.” There was venom in her voice as she spoke the name of the school she had once so highly respected. She was sobbing now. 

Victoria continued to rub circles on Max’s shoulder, planting soft, small kisses on the top of her head as she cried. 

“She knows you loved her, Max.”

Max turned to look up at Victoria. “No, Vic. We’ve been over this. When I went back, I wiped that timeline out, I got rid of that entire week. She-”

“Maxine.” Victoria cut her off. She took a breath, carefully deciding on what she was going to say. “I know the time travel… complicates things. I still don’t get it, and part of me doesn’t want to believe it. But I promise you, wherever Chloe is now, she knows. She may have been angry at the time, but…” She moved to rest her head against Max’s, looking the smaller girl in the eyes and cupping her face with one hand. “She’s not angry anymore. Finally, she’s happy.”

Max closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Vic I… I could have saved her. There must have been something I could have done, right?” She stood and moved over to the headstone. “I… I could have saved her. I could have saved William, and Rachel and… and…” she trailed off, leaning on the headstone for support.

This isn’t right. 

“Max? Max are you okay? What’s wrong?” Victoria moved to catch her as she fell. “Max, talk to me! What’s going on?” 

Max felt herself being slowly lowered to the ground, her vision swimming and her legs unable to support her. She used what little strength she had to turn and look at the Price headstone, gray and unmoving, in time to see a vivid, blue butterfly land on the top of it. Her eyes managed to focus when she looked at it, and it seemed to be looking right back at her.

Chloe?

Max passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Transcending space and time.

“Max? Hello? You there, hippie? I don’t have all… well, actually I kind of do have all day but still.”

Max groaned as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She tried to open her eyes and look around, but the light was blinding. Everything appeared to her as a bright, white blur. As she looked up, she found a splash of blue among the colorless veil that was her vision.

Blue?

As her eyes adjusted to the intense light, she slowly began to decipher some of the features of the person that was talking to her. 

Combat boots and tight, somewhat shabby jeans.

“Finally, I was starting to think you’d never wake up.”

An old, white tank-top with a skull on it.

“Mad Max, you listening?”

Max’s vision finally cleared as her eyes passed over the bullet necklace and landed on the mess of blue hair covered with a dark beanie on top of the other girl’s head.

Blue… hair? 

Max slowly pushed herself off the ground, trying to decide if what she was looking at was real. Those blue eyes that pierced her soul, that heavy, messy eyeliner, and that smirk that made her knees weak and her face heat up didn’t register in her mind for the longest time. After staring for much too long, a smile spread across the brunette’s face. 

“CHLOE!” Max bounded forward, throwing her arms around the punk and knocking her off balance, sending them both to the ground. Tears streamed down her face as the girls held each other, laughing. 

Chloe gently pushed Max off of her and sat up, her eyes watering. “There we go. It’s been a while, I was starting to get impatient.” She wrapped her arm around the smaller girl’s shoulders and pulled her tight against her.

Max looked around. They were by the lighthouse overlooking the town, but something was different. An unnatural glow illuminated the ocean, and it seemed like everything past the edges of the town was covered in a dense fog. Panic slowly crawled across her face as a thought came to her. “Are we… I mean, am I…?”

Chloe laughed. “Dead? Nah. I mean… well, I am, yeah. But you’re not.”

Max breathed a sigh of relief. “Then what’s going on? Why am I here? Where is here?”

Chloe stood up and moved to the bench that Max was all too familiar with. She sat and patted the spot beside her, signaling for the brunette to join her. “Well, it’s kind of hard to explain, really. It’s kind of like limbo, I guess?”

Max shifted uncomfortably. “Wait, so does that mean… does that mean you’ve been here since…” she trailed off.

“Since I died? Yeah, I guess so. It hasn’t been that bad, though, just having the Bay to myself for… shit, time isn’t really a thing here, I guess. How long has it been?”

Max looked away. “Nine months.”

“Oh. Wow. It feels like it’s been a lot longer. Granted, it also kind of feels like it was last week, since, like I said, time is pretty wonky here.” Chloe chuckled.

The girls sat in silence for quite some time before Max spoke again.

“Chloe… Why am I here? Don’t get me wrong, I’m really, really glad to see you but… if I’m not dead then...?”

Chloe rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, ya see…” she turned to look at Max. “You’re kinda maybe sorta definitely here because of me?”

Huh?

“Chloe, I understand that it’s probably been a while since you’ve used words, but you’re going to have to try a little harder than that.” Max laughed despite her confusion.

The punk gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. “You know how you saw that butterfly by my grave, right before you passed out?” Max nodded. “Yeah, that was me. Don’t ask how I did it; it took a long-ass time for me to figure out how to do any sort of shit like that. I’ve been waiting for you to come back to Arcadia, and figured this was probably the only chance I was going to get to talk to you.”

Max leaned her head on Chloe’s shoulder. “So, what did you need to talk to me about so badly that you’d scare my girlfriend to death, transcend time and space and probably break some sort of holy law to pull me into the afterlife?”

Chloe took a breath. “This isn’t your fault, Maximillion.”

Again… huh?

“What do you mean?”

Chloe motioned to herself. “This. The whole ‘bled-out-in-the-bathroom’ thing. I know you’re blaming yourself.”

“Chloe, I…” 

The punk cut her off.

“Nope, don’t even start with that. There wasn’t anything you could do, okay?” Max started to protest, but stopped herself to let Chloe continue. “I know everything that happened that week, ya know? And no, I don’t mean just what happened in the ‘final’ timeline.” She air-quoted the word “final”. “Sure, when I was dying I thought I was alone. I was angry and miserable and thought that the entire world had abandoned me. When I came here though...” She took Max’s hands and stared into her eyes. “It all came back to me. Your powers, Jefferson, the dark room. All of it.

“Max, this was my choice. I chose to let go so that Arcadia could live. You had nothing to do with it. In fact, you made everything better by simply giving me one last week where I felt loved, a week where I felt as though life actually meant something. I hadn’t felt that way in years, and then you showed up again. I always said that Rachel was my angel, that she saved me, but really, Max, that was you. You gave me the strength I needed to move on, and I will love you for that for the rest of eternity.” 

Both girls were crying now. 

“What I’m saying, Max, is that you can’t keep beating yourself up over my death. You loved me when no one else would, and even though it didn’t seem like it while I was bleeding out, I know now that I really did die happy.”

Max managed to smile through her tears. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that, Chloe. From you, specifically.” She wiped the back of her hand across her face. “I’ve been beating myself up for months. I’ve been absolutely convinced that there was something I could have done, something we could have done. I knew, really, that this was the right thing to do, but it never felt that way. I’ve been so terrified that you died in that bathroom hating the world… hating me.” She pulled the punk into a hug. “I know that’s not true now. I know that it was never true. Thank you, Chloe. For everything.”

Chloe pulled back to look Max in the eyes one last time. “Well, Max, now that I’ve said what needed to be said and I see that you’re going to be okay, it’s time for me to head out.” She planted a gentle kiss on the smaller girl’s head. “I should really be the one thanking you, so thanks. Thanks for giving me that happiness that I desperately needed at the end.”

With tears in her eyes, Chloe stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff. She turned, and with a smile she spoke words that had once been strained and desperate.

“Max Caulfield, don’t you forget about me.”

She was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a lifetime.

Victoria sat in front of the Price headstone, cradling her partner in her lap, sobbing. It had only been a few minutes since Max had passed out, and she still wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted to call for an ambulance, but what if this was related to Max’s powers? She couldn’t exactly explain to the emergency workers that this could possibly be some sort of supernatural time-aneurism without ending up in a hospital herself.

Her concern quickly waned, however, when Max started to stir in her lap. She held her breath as the girl stretched and slowly sat up, looking around as though she didn’t know where she was. 

“MAX!” she screamed. She pulled her girlfriend into a tight embrace, sobbing into her shoulders, unable to speak any further. The smaller girl hesitated, and then brought her arms up to return the hug. After some time, Victoria pulled away, her eyes searching Max’s own, desperate for answers. 

“So, I guess I have some ‘splainin’ to do, huh?” Max smiled sheepishly. 

Finally able to gather her thoughts, Victoria brushed the tears from her face with her sleeve.

“What happened? One minute we’re checking out the grave and the next you… you were…” She trailed off, obviously struggling to find the words to describe exactly what she’d seen.

“I know, and I’m sorry. It’s a bit of a long story. Can we go somewhere more private before I explain things?”

Victoria took a deep breath, and then gave a short nod. “Yeah. Yeah let’s get back to the car.” 

 

“So… what you’re telling me is that Chloe hung out in some phantom Arcadia Bay for nine months, working on some… ghost-voodoo shit that would let her talk to you in limbo should you ever happen to pass through again?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. I don’t really get it, either, but I’m kind of used to just being along for the ride at this point.”

Victoria shook her head, not completely able to understand everything that had  
transpired in the last hour or so. “Max are you sure you’re alright? You’re absolutely positive that I don’t need to call an ambulance or anything?”

Max laughed. “Oh, come on. You’ll believe me about time travel but not about ghost-Chloe and the great Arcadia beyond?” She moved closer to her girlfriend, the light in her life that had brought her through the absolute darkest nights she could imagine. 

“I’m okay, Vic. I promise. I can finally be happy, knowing that Chloe is at peace.”

Victoria’s expression lightened a bit at Max’s touch. She turned to face her, thinking back on the past year and not understanding how she’d ever been able to live without the girl currently climbing into her lap. 

She smiled. 

“Good.” She pulled Max closer, their faces now just inches apart. “So, what do you think? One more night in Arcadia? Or do you want to go home?”

Max moved even closer, taking in the scent of Victoria’s perfume and leaning her forehead against the blonde’s. 

“Let’s do one more night.”

She kissed her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue.

Victoria Chase-Caulfield stood alone at the Price headstone. It had been a while since she had come to visit, but she wanted to make sure she was there to tell the punk happy birthday, since she had missed it the year before. She nervously played with the band on her left ring finger, having opted for the simple golden ring over Max’s elaborate jewels. 

She thought back on that day so long ago; the day she was terrified that she would lose the love of her life for good. She still wasn’t sure she understood everything that Max had told her, even after all of the time she’d had to contemplate it. Time travel and spirit worlds and phantom butterflies; she didn’t care anymore. She’d accepted years ago that it was all above her, anyway. 

She took a seat next to Chloe’s foot marker and pulled her knees to her chest. They popped and strained against her, but she was determined to relive just a little bit of her youth, dammit. 

“You know… I never pictured us as friends.” She started talking to the headstone in front of her. Her voice cracked. She didn’t know if Chloe could hear her, but she wanted to talk, regardless. 

“I treated you like shit when we were kids. I always thought I was better than you; I thought that I was better than everyone. I was high school royalty, and I made sure to take advantage of it.” She sighed. “I’ve told you over and over again how sorry I am… but I don’t even know if you can hear me. I know Max…” 

She froze at the name.

Victoria took a deep breath, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and continued.

“I know that Max told me you were still around, at least for a while. If you can’t hear me now, then I at least hope you know that I changed. Rather, Max changed me. She taught me how to feel things that I didn’t know I could feel, and she assured me over and over again that you’d forgiven me. 

“I miss her so much. I guess she’s with you now, huh? At least I know she’s happy.” She smiled weakly and pulled her knees closer to her chest, the late winter air sending a chill down her spine. 

“I don’t think I have much longer here, Chloe. It’s been far too long since I’ve felt any purpose, and at my age I know that it’s only a matter of time. 

“On the bright side, I know that when that time comes I’ll get to see Max again. And I’ll get to apologize to you in person.” She struggled to her feet as the first few drops of rain splashed against her face. “Happy birthday, punk.”

She turned to leave, making her way to the iron gate at the edge of the cemetery. As she pushed it opened, she looked back in the direction of the Price headstone.

“Oh, and Chloe? One more thing.

“Tell Maxine I love her.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! This is my first fic, and my first post on AO3! I hope everything is formatted correctly and that you guys enjoy this! I've been working on it for quite a long time and finally got around to finishing it recently. I love Life is Strange and pretty much everything about it, so I hope that I did the series some justice!


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